Tennessee: Same-Sex Marriage Plaintiffs Awarded $2 Million In Legal Fees

The state of Tennessee has been ordered by a federal judge in Nashville to pay the legal fees of the three couples whose lawsuit brought about marriage equality in the state.

From the Knoxville News Sentinel:

Judge Aleta Trauger awarded $1.98 million in attorneys' fees and $59,916 in expenses to the plaintiffs, which include Knoxville veterinarians Valeria Tanco and Sophy Jesty. The award, allowed under federal law, is 15 percent less than the $2.33 million the plaintiffs sought.

"The results obtained in this case were superb and far-reaching," Trauger wrote in her memo. "As the prevailing party, the plaintiffs will, therefore, be rewarded a significant portion of their requested reasonable attorney's fees and expenses under Section 1988."

A spokesman for Tennessee Attorney General Hebert H. Slatery's office said his office was still reviewing the order Monday afternoon and did not have a comment. In court documents filed in January and unsealed on March 7, Slatery's office argued the plaintiffs' attorneys were overcharging for their services, and insisted they should be paid $1.1 million instead.

According to JoeMyGod, same-sex marriage plaintiffs nationwide have been awarded a total of $17,090,388.61 in legal fees and court costs, thus far.

I hope the haters who pushed the issue so far feel every single dime was worth losing.

#Forward